Method for identifying cabled wires



Dec! 10 H- B- METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING CABLED WIRES Filed Feb. 21, 1925Patented Dec. 10, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOWARD B. JONES, FEVANSTON, ILLINOIS METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING CABLED WIRES Applicationfiled. February 21, 1925. Serial No. 10,738.

efiicient methods and means for the purpose.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter. V

In the drawings Figure 1 shows a simple and preferred form of means withwhich my new method may be practiced; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic Viewillustrating the circuits and other details understood to be'present inthe testing device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of a flexible connectionunit comprising five wires in a cable, two outside wires, and a multipleconnection plug at one end; and Fig. 4 is a perspective of a socketelement with which the plug element of Fig. 3 may be used.

In Fig. 3 the multiple connection plug device 10 has seven contact stems11 arranged in a circle about a guiding stem 12, these contact stemsbeing adapted to interfit respectively with tubular contact members 13of the socket member of Fig. 4 while the central stem 12 of the plugpasses into the central opening 14 thereof, the shell of plug element 10telescoping upon the cylindrical part 15 of the socket member. Each ofthe socket elements 13 pro- 'jects beyond the member 15 and lead wiresare soldered to them respectively, the seven lead wires, in my practice,leading to given ter minals in a radio receiving set. The socket memberof Ifig. 4 may be considered as being mounted within the cabinet 'ofsuch a set with a hole in the side wall of the cabinet for the admissionof the plug member 10. The tel": minals in a receiving set to which thelead wires of the socket member of Fig. 4 are also connected areordinarily established in the set for the antenna, the ground, plus Abattery, plus B battery amplifier, plus B battery detector, minus Bbattery, and minus A battery;

butthese terminals are mentioned in merely asuggestive way as some setsmay call for other terminals and .the progress of the art may developothers at the present time unknown.

Fig. 3 shows five wires 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, issuing fromrubber-coated insulation 16, 17:, 18, 19 and 20 respectively, and thesefive rubber-coated wires are shown as being of the plug member 10.Details of encased in an envelope 22 puttin them in the form of a cableexcept for their ree end portions, say for a distance of about a footand a. half. The entire length of these wires in my practice varies fromabout five to eight feet.

Two other insulated wires, 23 and '24, are shown as being outside of thecable, and these are to be understood as being connections for theantenna and ground, and are separated from the cable wires, for onereason, to .prevent inductive interference with the antenna circuit whenthe device is in use.

The seven wires of Fi 3 are to be understood as being connecte to theseven plugs 11 respectively within the tubular housing such aplugmember- 10 and of the essential features, for

' present purposes, of the socket member of Fig. 4 will be founddisclosed in my copending applications Serial No. 584,901, filed August28th, 1922, and Serial No. 622,241, filed March 2nd, 1923, on electricalconnection devices, and in these disclosures it will also ap pear thatthe seven wires are strongly bound to the socket member 10 within thehousing thereof.

It is desirable for various reasons that the wires issuin from the plugmember 10 be in the form of a cable. For instance because the batteriesare often placed in the basement of the residence and these wires musttherefore pass through the floor to connect the batteries with the set.An additional reason for having the ground and antenna connection wiresfree is that these circuits are usually completed close to where the setis installed.

In assembling the device of Fig. 4 the various cable wires are firstconnected with the plug terminals 11, as by soldering, the elements 11with wires attached then being assembled with the plug member 10. Sincethe .plug member 10 int,erfits with the socket member of Fig. 4in onlyone particular relation (see my said co'pending applications), and sinceit is highly important that the electrical connections with the radioset equipment shall always be in the arrangement called for by theorganization of the set, it becomes important and strictly necessary todetermine which one of the wires is connected with each particular oneof the plug elements 11.

At this place I will point out that in practice I color the sevenrearwardly projecting portions of the socket elements 13 (Fig. 4)respectively, red, pink, blue, yellow, green, black and brown, and bymeans of a chart accompanying the device in sale I give instructions tothe effect that the lead wires of Fig. 4 are so to be connected with theradio set terminals that the one marked red shall be connected with theplus A battery terminal. the one marked pink with the plus B batteryamplifier, and so on. Having connected up the socket member of Fig. 4the users next consideration is to connect the free ends of the wiresof, the article of Fig. 3 with the proper battery terminals, thegroundand the antenna, and to enable him to do this without mistake thefree ends of these wires are correspondingly colored red, pink, blue,etc., so that the user, when he telescopes the plug member 10 with thesocket member of Fig. 1, simultaneously makes all of the desiredconne'ctions, and can break all of these connections by simplywithdrawing the plug member.

The foregoing explanatory discussion of the article leads to adescription of the pres ent invention as used by me in a method andmeans for determining which of the wires of the article shall be coloredred, pink, blue, etc., so that the user may make no mistake, for amistake in the connections would be likely to ruin all of the vacuumtubes and might do other damage.

Fig. 1 shows a box having mounted thereon electric lamp bulbs 25, 26,27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 stained respectively red, pink, blue, etc., asshown in the drawings. The diagram matic View of Fig. 2 illustrating thetesting device of Fig. 1 shows a source of current supply in the form ofa battery 13 with the bulbs bridged respectively between the main 32 andrespective socket members 13*, while a plurality of plugs 11 are shownas being in position to enter the sockets 13 respectively and makeelectrical connection therewith. From each plug element 11 lead wiresextend marked respectively 16, 17", 18*, 19 20 23 and 24 respectively.The socket member marked 15 of Fig. 1 is to be understood as being inall material respects in accordance with the socket of Fig. 4:, and thewiring of the device of Fig. 1 is to be understood as being inaccordance with the diagram of Fig. 2, all to the effect that when theplug 10 is made to interfit with the socket member 15 each wire issuingfrom the plug 10 will be in electrical communication with the main 32through one of the colored lamps. From Fig. 2 it will further beobserved that the other battery terminal is connected to a contactmember 35 and that the wire 24 is shown as having been brought intocontact with the contact In Fig. 1 this contact member 35 is shownprojecting through the front face of the box and one of the wires as 24is shown as having been placed in communication with the contact 35. Itis clear from Fig. 2 that on making such contact a circuit is completedthrough one of the wires and one of the lamps, and that thereupon theparticularlamp is illuminated and shows the color with which its bulbwas stained.

In front of the testing box of Fig. 1 I place an open top box (which maybe of cardboard) having notches 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42, leadingdownward from the front top edge. Surrounding each of these notches isa. space coloredlike, and in corresponding order and with, the colorsshown by the lamps, namely: red, pin, blue, etc.

The operator takes one of the devices or articles of Fig. 3 and plugs itinto the socket marked 15 of the tester of Fig. 1 and, having placedmost of the article in the notched box and while holding the bunch offree wire ends in his left hand, he takes one at random and touches thecontact 35, and thereupon one of the lamps is illuminated. The operatornoting the color of that bulb places that wire so that its free end willproject through the notch correspondingly indicated. According to Fig. 1wires 16, 17 and 23, have already been determined to belong respectivelyin the red, yellow and black notches of the segregat ing box. I

The operator having segregated the various wires with their free endsprojecting from the container for the article sets the container to oneside and takes another container and another flexible connection articleand repeats the testing and end-segregating operation, and so on, whileanother-operator takes the boxes with the projecting ends in the propernotches and by means of a brush applies a coating of red, pink, blue,yellow, green, black and brown paint to the rubber insulation adjacentto the exposed ends of the wires respectively.

The operation of determining which wire belongs in each of the notchesof the box is quite rapid, as a flash of the lamp is sufficient. Whilethe tester could apply a marker at the time, the provision of acontainer in which the article can be carried from place to place, andpacked one on top of another, and always with the free ends of the wiresexposed, greatly facilitates the marking operation, and, when paint isused, enables a veritable wall of such containers to be formed wherebythe painting may be done expeditiously in vertical rows and then allowedto dry without disturbance. It is entirely feasible to apply tags orclips having identifying data thereon instead of the paint, but I findthe color scheme entirely practical and satisfactory.

In Fig. 2 the multiple contact member including the terminals or socketelements 13 is in an arran ement well suited to the determination theopposite ends of cabled wires where both ends are free, in which casefree ends of the wires could be inserted in the 5 respective sockets 18.and either there held by hand or temporarily fastened by any approvedmeans while the other ends are severally brought into engagement withthe contact element 35. In such case both ends of the several wirescould be marked in a corresponding way at the time. 7

I contemplate as being included in these improvements such changes,modifications and departures from what is herein specificallyillustrated and described as fall within the scope of the appendedclaim.

I claim The'method of identifying wires connected respectively to theterminals of a multiple connection device including a cable-like part,which consists in placing the respective terminals of the connectiondevice in electrical communication with a common conductor through aplurality of electrically operated signal devices whereby each terminalis in connection with such conductor through a different one of thesignal devices, completin the circuit through the respective wires anthe common con uctor so as to operate the respective'silgqnals, andmarking the wires according to t e indications of the signalsrespectively.

HOWARD B. JONES.

